I think you are selling the Nets roster a bit short. They are currently 5 games behind the Sixers, and I think they coukld catch them. So if making the playoffs is your goal, then this deal could be a problem for the Sixers.

Having a legit top 20 NBA star does not guaratee a playoff spot (Miami missed out with Wade and Bosh was probably near top 20 and rarely made the playoffs.) But it certainly helps...

And if you question my "star" logic, then name the best player in the NBA not currently slotted to make the playoffs. At this point it is Nash (whose team has a better record than the 7th seed in the East.) Almost every top 20 player in the NBA is on a team heading to the playoffs. It is a star driven league- more than ever since expansion.

I'm really not sure Melo qualifies as a star. Granted, he's been dogging it this season, but he's hardly even been the best player on his team.

The Sixers have four players with more win shares than Melo has so far this year (Brand, Thad, Jrue, Iguodala), and Lou isn't far behind.

You could also look at it this way. Denver is 20-16, which would be good for the #7 seed in the East. Their core is Billups, Melo, Nene (who is having a phenomenal season) and Afflalo (who is also having a phenomenal season). Then they have guys like Lawson, JR Smith, Andersen and Kenyon Martin rounding out their roster.

In NJ, you'll still have Billups, but you downgrade the big man from Nene to Brook (which is a significant downgrade), you downgrade Afflalo to Rip (which is an even bigger downgrade) and you have absolutely no bench. They're 17 games under .500 right now. I don't see any way that squad is making up significant ground, even if Melo plays the best ball of his career and Chauncey doesn't spend the rest of the season pouting.

I disagree. I don't get the notion that Anthony is not a star based on stats from this season. I'm not saying that he is a complete game changer like Bryant or Lebron, but he is definitely a top 20 player. And the notion that he hasn't performed in the playoffs is also wrong, as evidenced by his play 2 years ago when he took his team to the western conference finals.

Anthony is quite possibly the most complete offensive player in the game. His problem has always been motivation. When he is motivated he is even a very good defender. But when he is not he is average in everything. With the right coach and situation he can be a superstar. But he is not a guy who performs always.

I also disagree about the supporting cast. Lopez is pretty much equal to Nene and Hamilton is better than Afflalo (who is not as good as his stats suggest this season).

The real problem about that "possible" NJN team is chemistry this season and age from next season onwards (Billups and Hamilton are going in the wrong direction fast)

My question is: what does Denver do with Nene if they trade Billups and Melo? He only has 1 year left on his contract (a player option) so doesn't it make sense that they'd trade him for picks/prospects and rebuild around Lawson/Favors? I haven't heard anything about Nene recently, but he'd be perfect for the 76ers

You are probably right. But his high paycheck reduces his value. I'm not sure exactly what Denver can expect for him. And I'm not sure Nene/Favors is a good combo on the offensive end. Both need to stay close to the paint to be effective. Although defensively they should be great.

Ty has Nene and Favors to dish to off of drives. Jrue has Brnad and Hawes- who both sometime struggle at point blank range in traffic.

You are probably right. No one really knows what the cap/tax will be with the new CBA, but it is probably going down.

This is part of the issue with Iguodala and Brand. A lower cap means the team will find it even harder to improve their roster. So unless they think their current squad will develop into a contender, then they should look at drastic changes, if only to maintain the flexibility needed to be able to improve the team.

I'd say there's a zero percent chance the players will actually be paid less, but I do think it's possible that all contracts predating the CBA could count for less against the cap. Meaning if the cap drops 10%, then all grandfathered contracts would be valued at 10% less when calculating a team's cap/luxury tax number. Or contracts could just be counted as a percentage of the cap. So, for simplicity's sake, say player X was making $10M and the cap was $50M, he's making 20% of the cap. If the cap drops to $40M, then his contract would only count for $8M against the new cap, or still 20%. I could see something like that happening.

And last time, teams got to cut one player to save luxury tax payments, not to get under the cap. Big distinction. Teams had to be over the tax already, and they still had to pay them.

I agree that any team giving Meo 25M/year is making a mistake. But I also think Melo is a top 20 player, who has been "distracted" in somewhat the same way that VC was before he was traded to NJ from Toronto.

People generally are critical of Melo and Amare (yet somehow Nash got a pass) for being primarily offensive stars. Same for PP befoer he started winning. And while those players are a level below the Lebron, Kobe and Duncan's of the world- they are still a level above Iguodala and 2 levels above any of the other players on the Sixers.

So I don't think the Nets have a bright future unless they get CP3... I do put them as yet another team between the Sixers and respectability.

to me billups is a really solid vet. but in no way is he a true pg. he only has 5 assists per game on the season and 3 turnovers. he's also 35 and aging. :) but he is still a knockdown 3 point shooter.

His style may not be conducive to high assists, but he's smart on the floor and knows how to run a team. He knows when to assert himself and when to involve others. So IMO he is a true PG, and has been since about the mid point of his career. He is one of the rare guys to "learn" the PG position.

I agree with the assessment. I would also like to add that the key factor if the deal goes threw will be Avery Johnson. If he can get them on the same page, that will be a vey dangerous team. If not, they will be a perennial underperforming playoff team.

Carmelo Is definitely an all star player as well as top 10 players in the league. Lets be real Anthony has the stats and he fills the seats. I know all he does is score but hes probably one of the best offensive players in the league. The sixers currently lack that only true fans are really supporting them cause they have no main attraction. Billups In my opinion is definitely a true point guard. Tk76 gave a few reason why Billups is a true point guard.